The isolation and characterisation of tissue-specific genes allows the analysis of tissue development and the identification of regulatory elements.
An anther-specific promoter is required to direct expression of heterogenous DNA to the anthers and/or pollen, for use, for example in the development of a male sterility system. A number of regulatory sequences from the promoter region of anther or pollen-specific genes have been identified using promoter deletion analysis. Sequence similarities among tissue specific promoters are restricted to short sequence motifs. Promoters may share a similar sequence but are also influenced by upstream regulatory elements that influence expression levels.
The tobacco TA39 gene is expressed in the anther tissue in tobacco (Goldberg et al., (1993) Plant Cell 5: 1217-1229). Unreported studies by the inventors found that TA39 promoter is active only in anthers of Arabidopsis and canola.
It is an aim of the present invention to provide an alternative to the TA39 promoter and to use this anther specific promoter in the production of transgenic plants engineered to have desirable characteristic. It is a further aim of the present invention to provide an anther specific promoter for use in Arabidopsis, wheat, Canola and other crops. The invention is particularly important in relation to legumes, crop, cereal and native grasses, fruiting plants, and flowering plants as it provides means for increasing yield.